Toilet seat



T. GREAVU Nov. 15, 1938.

TOILET SEAT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 27, 1938 Ihwentor i Nov. 15,, 1938. T, QQE VU 2,136,684

TOILET SEAT Fil'ed June 27. 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 15, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE TOILET SEAT Tanase Greavu, Dearborn, Mich.

Application June 27, 1938, Serial No. 215,990

7 Claims.

This invention relates, in general, to toiletbowls and, in particular, to a toilet bowl having aseat or cover which is mechanically swung ward and from the rim of the bowl supporting it.

For purposes of sanitation it is not desirable to touch the seat or cover of a toilet and it is,

Another object is to provide, for the purposev outlined, a toilet bowl with a raising and lowering mechanism for the seat or cover of the bowl, said mechanism being readily and easily installed on a toiletalready assembled and in place in the toilet room.

Another object is toprovide a toilet bowl having a seat, or cover with aleverage system operable bythe users foot for raising or lowering the seat or cover, or, if it is desired to operate said seat or cover mechanically by hand actuation, then to provide said bowl with a hand actuated pulley system, in either case the system to be inexpensive, easily installed, sturdy and effective.

Other objects and advantages will become readily apparent from a reference to the following specification taken in conjunction with the ac:- companying drawings of which there are two (2) sheets and in which:

Figure 1 is aside elevation of a toilet arrangement and showing one embodiment of the invention associated therewith, said arrangement being shown in one position in full lines and in another position in broken or dotted lines;

2 is a top plan View, in elevation, of the arrangement shown in Fig. i;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a slightly modified form of the toilet shown in Fig. l; and,

li'igs. 4 and5 are side and top plan elevational views, respectively, of a toilet having incorporat- I2 and being provided integrally with the usual 'rearwardly extending lug portions I6, said lug portions being pivotally supported in the usual manner by and about the usual pivot pin is which in turn is stationarily supported as usual 3 at and by the rear of said rim for adapting said seat for swinging movement toward and from said rim about the axis of said pin.

Adjacent a side of bracket l4 and preferably to the underneath portion of seat l2, in Figs. 1 and 2 and in Figs. 4 and 5, is rigidly secured a bracket 20, said bracket extending outwardly from the side of said seat and being provided integrally on its extended portion with a rearwardly extending arm 22 and a forwardly extending arm 24, arms 22 and 34 being spaced horizontally from each other and provided, respectively, with stub shafts 26 and 28, the axes of shafts 26 and 28 being substantially parallel with the axis of pin I8. The pivots 25 and 28 are vertically offset from the arms 22 and 24 of the plate 20 in order to aid in the tilting movement of the seat.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the end of an arm 3|] is pivotally secured about the shaft 26, while the end of another arm 32 is pivotally secured about the shaft 28. The free end of arm 33 is pivotally secured to and intermediate the ends of a pedal lever 34, while the free end of arm 32 is pivotally secured toand intermediate the ends of another pedal lever 36. Levers 34 and 33, at one end of each thereof, are pivotally supported in any suitable manner to a bracket 38 which is stationarily mounted to the supporting floor at the rear andside of bowl [0, the free ends of levers 34 and 36 being integrally provided with pedals 39 and 40, respectively. A spring 42, adapted for being under tension when seat I2 is resting on the rim of bowl in and substantially idle when said seat has been swung from said rim, is disposed at the side of bowl l0 and has one of its ends secured to the stub shaft 23 and the opposite end mounted to the supporting floor,as at 44.

Still referring to Figs. 1 and 2, it will be noted that the outwardly extending portion of bracket 20 has its rearwardly extending arm 22 directed upwardly and its forwardly extending arm 24 directed downwardly, such provision enabling the pedal ends 39 and 40 of levers 34 and 36 to be substantially spaced during fully opened or fully closed positions of seat 12 when arms 30 and 32 of equal lengths are employed. Such spacing of pedals 39 and 40 can obviously be attained in other ways, and this invention is not to be limited to the construction shown. The position of the device shown in full lines in Fig. 1 is readily changed to the position shown in dotted lines by pressing the foot downwardly on the higher pedal, which happens to be pedal 39, said pedal being disposed on the lever 34 to which is pivotally connected one end of the arm 36, the other end of the arm 30 being pivotally connected to the rearwardmost stub shaft 26, thereby causing downward swinging movement of lever 34 about 38 and upward swinging movement of seat l2 about the axis of pin l8. At this time, the arm 32, which is pivotally connected at one end to the forwardmost stub shaft 28 and to the other lever 36, causes upward movement of lever 36 about 38. Repositioning the seat I2 from the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 to the position shown therein in full lines is readily attained by pressing downwardly on the upraised pedal 40, the seat l2 being lowered thereby against the force of spring 42, and the spring, therefore, serving as a buffer means to prevent violent closing of the seat on the rim of bowl H].

In Fig. 3, the elevating and lowering mechanism just described is applied to an oft-employed seat cover 46, rather than to the seat l2 itself,

said arrangement presenting advantages not dissimilar from those attained in Figs. 1 and 2. The bracket I4 is secured. as before, to the rear under surface of seat I2 and is hinged, as before, to the pin I6. As usual, a bracket 48 is employed for permitting individual pivotal movement of 4 cover 46 about I 8, bracket 48 being fixedly secured in the usual manner to the rear undersurface of cover 46 and individually pivotally secured in the usual manner to pin l8. Alongside the portion of bracket 48 which is secured to the cover 46 is secured the bracket 20, and to bracket 20, in the aforementioned manner relating to Figs. 1 and 2, is connected the elevating and lowering mechanism, said mechanism effectuating the swinging of cover 46 rather than of the seat l2, seat I2 being purely manually operable.

The device shown in Figs. 4 and is similar to the device shown in Figs. 1 and 2 except that the former is operated by hand rather than by foot. The stub shafts 26 and 28 each have a link 50 mounted thereon and to each link is connected an end of a cord or chain 52, the other end of each cord or chain passing over a pulley wheel 54. 'Wheels 54 are pivotally supported by an overhead bracket 56 which is fixedly secured to the wall of, the toilet room above the bowl ill, the wheel 54 associated with the link 50 on shaft 28 being spaced from the wheel 54 associated with the link 50 on shaft 26 similarly as are the shafts 26 and 28. Each of the cords or chains 52 is provided at its free end with a gripping handle 58. Since the cords 52 are connected, one to link 56 on shaft 26 of rear portion 22 of bracket 20 and the other to link 50 on shaft 28 of front portion 24 of bracket 20, and since bracket 20 is fixedly secured to seat I 2, pulling one handle 58 downwardly will cause the other handle 58 to move upwardly and at the same time the seat l2 to move in one direction about the pin I8 toward or from the rim of bowl Hi. It is obvious that this hand actuating arrangement has the same function as the foot actuating arrangement in Figs. 1 and 2, and that it may be adapted for actuating a cover, as in Fig. 3, rather than a seat.

It is to be noted in each of the figures that the bracket 20 is separate and distinct from the bracket which pivotally supports the seat or cover to the bowl, and this is for the purpose of permitting the hand or foot actuating mechanism to be employed with a toilet bowl already installed for use.

Although the invention has been described with some detail it is not intended that such description be definitive of the limits of the inventive idea. The right is reserved to make such changes in the specification and drawings as will come within the purview of the attached claims.

What I claim is:-

1. In combination with a toilet bowl having a member pivotally supported above the bowl rim, a bracket fixedly secured to said member and extending laterally therefrom, said laterally extending portion having forwardly and rearwardly extending portions, a pair of links one pivotally attached to said forwardly extending portion of said bracket and the other pivotally attached to said rearwardly extending portion of said bracket, said links being in spaced relation to each other, and a pair of means attached to the free ends of said links and operable by the user of said bowl for pivotally moving said member about its support relatively to said rim.

2. In combination with a toilet bowl supported on a floor and having a member pivotally supported above the bowl rim, a bracket fixedly secured to said member and extending laterally therefrom, said laterally extending portion having forwardly and rearwardly extending portions, a pair of links one pivotally attached to said forwardly extending portion of said bracket and the other pivotally attached to said rearwardly extending portion of said bracket, said links being in spaced relation to each other, a pair of means attached to the free ends of said links and operable by the user of said bowl for pivotally moving said member about its support relatively to said rim, and a spring secured to said bracket and thefloor and operable for opposing the move ment of said member in one of its directions.

3. In combination with a toilet bowl having a member pivotally supported above the bowl rim, a bracket fixedly secured to said member and extending laterally therefrom, said laterally extending portion having forwardly and rearwardly extending portions, a pair of links one pivotally attached to said forwardly extending portion of said bracket and the other pivotally attached to said rearwardly extending portion of said bracket, said links being in spaced relation to each other, and a pair of means attached to the free ends of said links and operable alternately by the user of said bowl for first swinging said member about its support through one of said links in one direction and then swinging said member about its support through the other of said links in an opposite direction.

4. In combination with a toilet bowl supported on a fioor and having a member pivotally supported above the bowl rim, a bracket fixedly secured to said member, a pair of links pivotally attached to said bracket in spaced relation to each other, and a pair of pedal levers attached intermediate their ends to the free ends of said links, said levers each being pivotally mounted to said floor and operable upon alternate depression of their free ends by the foot of the user of said bowl for pivotally moving said member about its support relatively to said rim first in one direction and then in the other.

5. In combination with a toilet bowl supported on a floor and having a member pivotally supported above the bowl rim, a bracket fixedly secured to said member, a pair of links pivotally attached to said bracket in spaced relation to each other, and a pair of pedal levers attached intermediate their ends to the free ends of said links, said levers each being pivotally mounted tosaid floor and operableupon alternate depression of their free ends by the foot of the user of said bowl for first swinging said member about its support through one of said links in one direction and then swinging said member about its support through the other of said links in an opposite direction.

6. In combination with a toilet bowl supported on a floor adjacent a side wall and having a member pivotally supported above the bowl rim, a bracket fixedly secured to said member, a. pair of links pivotally attached to said bracket in spaced relation to each other, a pair of pulleys supported on said wall above said links, and a pair of elongated flexible members connected to said links and extending over said pulleys and operable for being alternately pulled by the user of said bowl for moving said pivotally supported member about its support first in one direction and then in an opposite direction relatively to said rim.

7. In combination with a toilet bowl supported on a fioor adjacent a side wall and having a member pivotally supported above the bowl rim, a bracket fixedly secured to said member, a pair of links pivotally attached to said bracket in spaced relation to each other, a pair of pulleys supported on said wall above said links, a pair of elongated flexible members connected to said links and extending over said pulleys and operable for being alternately pulled by the user of said bowl for moving said pivotally supported member about its support first in one direction and then in an opposite direction relatively to said rim, and a spring mounted to said bracket and said floor for opposing the movement of said pivoted member in one of its directions.

TANASE GREAVU. 

